What drink is essential to you every day? Some people prefer lemon water, some may prefer tea or coffee. For coffee lovers, one or two coffee mugs are an integral part of their life. How can you choose which mugs from the many options? It can be difficult, especially if you are looking for coffee mugs that last for years and don’t cost a lot. Coffee mugs are used not only for coffee but also for other hot or cold beverages. You can use it to contain any liquids as your like.
Best Coffee Mugs
1. Contigo Snapseal Byron Travel Mug
Amazon.com
- Offer one-hand drinking
- Keep coffee hot several hours without leakage
- Suitable for most car cup holders
- 100% BPA free
- Not dishwasher safe. It’s better to wash it by hand.
- A few reports of O-ring coming off after a period of use.
2. SUNWILL Coffee Mug with Lid
Free shipping
Amazon.com
- Double-walled stainless steel cup body with vacuum insulation
- Keep the temperature for a long time
- Can contain cold or hot drinks
- BPA free and spill-proof lid
- Not easy to completely clean the lid.
- Not dishwasher safe
3. Silver Buffalo Black Ceramic Mug with Prints
2 used from $10.43
Free shipping
Amazon.com
- Wide mouth and extra large capacity.
- Versatile for soup, coffee, or other food.
- With double-sided prints on the ceramic cup
- Easy to clean, dishwasher safe, and microwave safe.
- Great gift for friendship.
- When fully filled, it is a bit heavy for some people.
4. YETI Rambler Stackable Mug
Free shipping
Amazon.com
- Stackable design for easy storage
- Useful lid to keep the temperature of drinks
- Made of double-wall stainless steel with vacuum insulation
- Multiple color options
- Dishwasher safe
- No sweat design for comfortable grip
- The durable coating will not crack, peel or fade.
- Some leaking reports
5. Bosmarlin Large Glossy Ceramic Coffee Mug
Free shipping
Amazon.com
- Flawless and bold solid color options
- Sturdy base to stand
- Comfortable to hold
- Glossy ceramic is easy to wash
- Vibrant gift options
- Occasional color difference reports
6. Ember Temperature Control Smart Mug
4 used from $115.00
Free shipping
Amazon.com
- Help you out from reheating cold coffee
- Easy to use with the App to keep a fixed coffee temperature
- Black looks better after getting stained
- Auto-sleep and auto-wake up
- Easy to hold
- A bit pricey.
- Battery life issues after a period of use.
7. Gibson Elite Soho Cafe Mug Set
3 used from $16.81
Free shipping
Amazon.com
- Large capacity for containing various food
- Beautiful glazed colors
- Come in 4 pieces of 21-ounce multicolor mugs
- May not be microwave and dishwasher safe as advertised.
- The handle is not very comfortable to hold for people with big hands.
8. Hydro Flask Coffee Travel Mug with Flex Sip Lid
Free shipping
Amazon.com
- BPA free wide flex sip lid
- Well-built with stainless steel
- Dishwasher safe
- Convenient handle design
- Keep cold or hot for hours
- Easy to clean
- A few complaints of leakage.
What to Consider When Buying Coffee Mugs?
Purpose
When shopping for new coffee mugs, the first thing you should decide on is what purpose you are buying them for. On what occasions will you use your coffee mug? Are you using it at home or office? Or are you planning to take the coffee mug in traveling or outdoor sports? Your purposes determine what type of coffee mugs you need.
Capacity
The size of the coffee mug you will choose should be based on your preference for how large a cup of coffee you will consume.
There are many coffee mug sizes, from tiny 3.5oz to large 28oz. With a giant cup of coffee, you can sip it slowly while working or watching a movie without having to refill it all the time. Travel coffee mugs are usually large.
A set of tiny coffee mugs are suitable for afternoon tea with friends and family. However, the most popular coffee mug capacity is between 10oz to 16oz, which is sufficient to satisfy most people’s appetites.
Materials
There are five main options: ceramic, glass, stainless steel, silicone, and plastic. Let’s take a look at each.
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Ceramic
Ceramic is the most popular and safest material for coffee cups. They are typically painted with bright colors or glazed with beautiful patterns. If you want a coffee mug for home or office use, ceramic coffee mugs are the best choice. Because they are usually thick and durable, they can only be warmed by hot coffee, and are never too hot to hold.
Good quality ceramic coffee mugs can last a lifetime, but the thin ceramic mugs can easily break when dropped on the floor.
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Stainless steel
Stainless steel coffee mugs are not fragile. They can withstand hot drinks without any risk of cracking or chipping. Vacuum insulation technology enables these metal coffee mugs to keep the temperature of coffee or other beverages, hot or cold, for a long time, usually up to 5 hours. Especially the double-walled models can retain heat well, and will not transfer heat to the outside of the mug.
They usually have a leak-proof lid with a silicone O-ring inside to prevent liquid leakage. Therefore, stainless steel coffee mugs with larger capacities are perfect options for traveling and commuting.
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Silicone
Food-grade silicone makes silicone coffee cups safe and easy to use, just like silicone kitchen utensils. There are many silicone coffee cup designs on the market. The collapsible design is one of the most popular models. This feature makes it convenient for traveling, commuting, or camping. Silicone coffee mugs are eco-friendly and reusable. Take it in your pocket, use this when buying a cup of coffee. After drinking, you can easily wash it off with a little clean water, collapse it into a small round cap and place it in your pocket again.
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Glass
Glass coffee mugs are modern and sleek. People are always attracted by their visual appeal. They can come in multiple colors and designs. The coffee in the glass looks very attractive.
However, glass coffee mugs won’t keep heat well, so hot beverages will cool down quickly. In addition, the heat will be transferred to the outside, making it unsafe to hold. Some thin glass cups can break easily when you pour hot coffee or tea.
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Plastic
Plastic coffee mugs are lightweight and durable. Even if they fall on the tiled floor, they will not break. However, plastic is unstable at high temperatures. It may contain some harmful chemicals, such as BPA, which can leach into hot beverages. And plastic is not eco-friendly or recyclable. Plastic coffee mugs are suitable for temporarily containing cold drinks, but not for hot beverages.
Thickness
Coffee mug thickness is more than aesthetic consideration. Thicker mugs can retain heat well, are durable and comfortable to hold, while thin mugs may look elegant but they are too hot to hold because they don’t keep heat. The drinks get cold quickly.
Design
There are many coffee mug designs to choose from: elegant, rustic, and novelty.
Some elegant and classic coffee mugs may have a tapering or straight round shape. They are in solid colors or glazed with beautiful patterns, such as flowers.
Some creative coffee mugs can bring you happiness when drinking a cup of coffee. They are also great gift options for friends and family.
It’s best to choose coffee mugs that match well with your decor styles and dinnerware colors.
Other features
The self-stirring coffee mug is a lifesaver to lazy people. You don’t have to stir the beverages with a spoon. Just press one button to make it stir. Within one minute, you can enjoy a fully melted drink.
Some smart coffee mugs may have an automatic sleep or work function, and you can heat the coffee to a fixed temperature on your mobile phone.
Are Coffee Mugs Dishwasher Safe and Microwave Safe?
Not all coffee mugs are dishwasher safe and microwave safe. The best way is to check the label underneath the cup. If there is no label, follow the manufacturer’s instructions.
Commonly, ceramic coffee mugs are dishwasher safe, but only some of them are microwave safe. The ceramic coffee mugs with metallic rims or glaze can not be heated in the microwave. It depends on the amount and type of metals used in the clay and glaze.
Stainless steel coffee mugs are usually dishwasher safe but not microwave safe.
Glass, silicone, and plastic coffee mugs are not dishwasher safe and not microwave safe.
How to Remove Coffee Stains from Mugs?
As a coffee lover, you are probably familiar with the brownish coffee stains in the coffee cup, especially if the mug is white or light-colored. How to restore a coffee-stained mug? Here are some useful tips and handy tools to get rid of those coffee stains.
Vinegar soak
Half-fill the mug with hot or boiling water.
Add white vinegar to the mug. Allow the mixture to sit for 10 minutes.
Use a sponge or brush to scrub the vinegar water from the mug.
Rinse your mouth with clean water and you are good to go!
Baking soda
Add 2 teaspoons of baking soda to the mug.
Then, add warm water to make a paste.
Use a sponge to scrub the mixture for a few minutes so that mildly abrasive baking powder can remove the stain.
Rinse the area with clean water.
Baking soda soak
Add 2 teaspoons of baking soda to the cup, or 1 more teaspoon if the mug is large.
Pour boiled water into the cup to cover the coffee stains on the top level.
Stir the mixture with a spoon, and let it soak for at least 10 minutes. (For stubborn and severe coffee stains, 20-30 minutes).
Brush the stain with a toothbrush until it’s clean. Be careful with your hands! The water is hot.
Rinse the cup with clean water.
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